Full disclosure: not being a jazz buff, I had never heard of Lou Donaldson who died this week at the ripe old age of 98. This is his masterpiece. (more…)

This is so heartbreakingly sad. Nell Smith, the teenage girl from Leeds who recorded a stunning album of Nick Cave cover versions with Flaming Lips, has died at the age of 17.

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“Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.” That one line summed up Kris Kristofferson’s singular songwriting skill. It was like the entire Sixties ethos in a single phrase.

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The name of JD Souther, who has just died, might not mean a lot to most music fans. But his legacy surely will when you hear his songs.

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Zoot Money was one of those Zelig-like characters who turned up as a sideman, playing keyboards on hundreds of records from the early Sixties. But he actually started out as a front man.

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RIP Jerry Lee Lewis (1935-2022). Last of the rock’n’roll legends, The Killer might not have been the greatest of men but his musical legacy is peerless.

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I didn’t see much mention in the news of the death of Kinky Friedman, the self-styled “Texas Jewboy” of country music. It’s probably fair to say his records would not be released these days because of their close-to-the-bone satirical content; and their language (including this one).

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I’m so sad to hear about the death of Kevin Campbell, a title-winning mainstay of Arsenal’s attack in the late Eighties and early Nineties – and a hero on Merseyside after he moved to Everton.

RIP Clarence ‘Frogman’ Henry (1937-2024) – New Orleans pianist, rockabilly legend and singer of novelty single Ain’t Got No Home.

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RIP Steve Albini – record producer extraordinaire (Nirvana, Pixies, PJ Harvey, Low, Manics, Breeders) and band member (Big Black, Rapeman, Shellac).

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